Mayim Bialik files suit against various defendants in response to unauthorized CBD advertisements

https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/mayim-bialik-sues-groups-over-false-cbd-endorsement-ads-florida-court/QBCXXDSGJ5E6PGUXZZ5BISVM2A/
Mayim Bialik CBD lawsuit

and here is a link to the Court’s grant of preliminary injunction and TRO: Florida court grants Mayim Bialik request for preliminary injunction and TRO

Note regarding Lil Yachty lawsuit against Opulous for NFT offering

Without tackling the entirety of issues involved, it seems worth noting that the most recent coverage reports that the UK-based NFT company, Opulous, may be arguing California does not have jurisdiction over Lil Yachty’s suit for Opulous’ NFT offering and promotional activities related thereto utilizing Lil Yachty’s Right of Publicity and other rights and interests. The lawsuit alleges various violations and claims.

When analyzing the totality of a use, the final execution of the product involved (if a product-based offering) is not the entirety of the matter, as promotional efforts also must be considered, among other things. The value of an association with a celebrity or valuable Right of Publicity (in popular parlance, name image likeness) can accrue before any product is sold. NFTs, in particular, can generate repeat sales, and can sell for undetermined amounts based on the market response. The facts of the Lil Yachty lawsuit indicate that social media promotions, and funding for the defendant company, were aided by the promotion of the NFT in question.

It will be interesting to observe how the fact that defendants reportedly had communications with Lil Yachty in the planning stages for the NFT, then broke off negotiations yet proceeded with the use. That tends to be a strong fact, if accurate, in plaintiff’s favor in cases such as this.

If California does not have jurisdiction over this case, it may be a fair question whether defendant hermetically sealed its promotional efforts from California, not to mention how bids or potential sales from the jurisdiction in question were prevented. Of course, much depends on the specifics of a claim of this nature, what is established as factual, and related details.

Here is a link to Billboard’s coverage of the suit, which includes the complaint in question:
Lil Yachty lawsuit against Opulous, et. al., for unauthorized NFT activity

A few notes on “Copyright Restoration Act” bill and Disney

At the bottom of this entry is a link to more detailed analysis of the Copyright Restoration Act bill introduced by Senator Hawley in mid-May 2022, but for this entry, I will offer just a few observations. The bill seeks to curtail copyright duration and recast it in the former model of life of the author plus 28 years with an optional 28-year renewal. An explanation accompanying the bill uses the word “woke” twice in one sentence, and seems premised on the idea that the current copyright duration model was simply a Republican handout to Disney.

It could be interesting if someone were to research whether the prior legislative activity leading to the current copyright duration model can rightly be characterized as purely a Republican effort, or merely a handout, but the legislation was processed and deliberated over. The quotations accompanying the introduction of the bill seem to make clear that the bill is not about good, needed legislation, but rather some form of political posturing, which may not be the best foundation for legislative activity or intellectual property recognition. While the former model of 28 years with a potential renewal window has generated a lot of legal work for some due to its complexity and susceptibility to being manipulated, it could also be a good point to research whether the 28 plus 28 renewal is an efficient, clear and fair model to utilize. There are good reasons the copyright model moved on from the former structure.

What happens in the copyright realm often makes it way to the Right of Publicity realm. It seems the bill is not likely to pass, but it could be an entry worth marking for posterity.

For more information on the bill, see:
Don’t Say Copyright: lexology link to Frankfurt Kurnit Klien & Selz analysis article

Public Service Announcement: NIL = RoP

Thought everyone should know.

Andy Warhol’s Prince series not transformative; Andy Warhol’s Blue Marilyn transformative?

Just a quick note based on the Second Circuit’s recent ruling in Andy Warhol Found. for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, where it determined that Warhol’s Prince series was not transformative and therefore was subject to copyright provisions in relation to the reference photograph Warhol used. The court went through a fair use analysis, and the case was primarily concerning copyright, but it is interesting to contrast this decision with the Comedy III case, which was primarily Right of Publicity-related. In Comedy III, the Three Stooges artwork was held to not be sufficiently transformative, and the court used Warhol’s Blue Marilyn as the example of a work that would, in contrast, and in the court’s estimation, be sufficiently transformative. I’ll let those motivated to seek more run their own searches rather than post links here, as there is no lack of content, analysis and discussion being offered on this recent ruling. I have not, as yet, seen reference to the contrast with the Comedy III case, so I thought it may be useful to note it here.

A few thoughts on Forbes’ annual top-earning dead celebrities list

Departing from the usual Halloween release date, Forbes issued its annual top-earning deceased celebrities list on Friday, November 13th in 2020. A few takeaways, in no particular order:

1. Unsurprisingly, given the worldwide pandemic, almost all the reported numbers are down. Some may have more immunity than others, and those that went up, like Dr. Seuss were bolstered by television, movie and media deals. Some of that may be one-time bursts.
2. Elvis Presley was closing in on a 50% decline. Graceland, as a tourist destination, no doubt accounts for much of that given closures in 2020.
3. Prince is down yet again another year further from his death, as has been the trend. The summary on Prince mentions only music sales.
4. Those with the misfortune of making 2019’s list due to early departure, XXXTentacion and Nipsey Hussle, are gone.
5. Those with the misfortune of making 2020’s list due to early departure include Kobe Bryant and Juice WRLD. It will be interesting to see if Kobe Bryant is a one-time, one-year entrant or will make next year’s list as well.
6. Not-much-of-a-prediction: Eddie Van Halen will be on next 2021’s list. Though he passed away over a month prior to the release of the 2020 list, that is neither enough time to account increased sales, nor enough time to process his passing into a list that was no doubt already well underway in October.
7. The article includes a statement about its methodology, which includes sources I use when appropriate in valuations.

Last, a word about the often used term “delebrity” in relation to deceased celebrities. I get it, though it’s never really hit me as particularly clever or useful as a term. More importantly, no one I know who actually works with the heirs, family, and estates of notable deceased icons uses this term. It’s hard to take someone seriously who uses this term in their scholarship, publications, or writings. But keep using it, those who do, because it provides a revealing tell.

Here is a link to Forbes’ 2020 list: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/11/13/the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-2020/?sh=37a974e03b4b&utm_source=Licensing+International+Database&utm_campaign=b3b89e5adb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_12_18_01_57_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ec0e484a60-b3b89e5adb-397655773&mc_cid=b3b89e5adb&mc_eid=a31363c945

RBG and ROP (Right of Publicity and Ruth Bader Ginsburg)

Yes, there is a Right of Publicity interest pertaining to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died a week ago at the age of 87. As always, application and analysis of her Right of Publicity would depend on context and specifics in any particular situation. But sticking to overview observations, since she was a lawyer, it may be a safe assumption that Justice Ginsburg had a testamentary plan in place. Since she was attuned to intellectual property matters, it is possible there were specific Right of Publicity provisions in her testamentary plan. Since she is commonly referred to as RBG, it is safe to assume RGB could unequivocally identify Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And given the preceding points, it is safe to assume potential commercial uses or trademark activity could intersect with some of these points. This may all be academic, of course. We’ll see.

Is it okay for Antonio Brown to release a song called “Andrew Luck?”

Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting this blog entry’s title to be answered here, but for a number of reasons, it isn’t. The question can certainly be raised though. Former Steelers, Raiders and Patriots wide received Antonio Brown has released a song or track entitled “Andrew Luck,” which opens with audio from Andrew Luck’s press conference announcing his retirement, and including a repeated refrain with the lyrics:

I got the game and I’m not on stuck
I’m out the way like Andrew Luck
Everybody callin’ my phone, shut up

A while back, Outkast released a song called Rosa Parks. Litigation ensued and Parks won. In short, the song wasn’t about Rosa Parks and the title was deemed a violation of Rosa Parks’ rights. Paraphrasing, a great line from that decision was that “crying artist does not confer carte blanche” to use a person’s name in a way that does not relate to the song, but which certainly serves to bring attention to the track.

There are various other examples. Logic released a song called “Keanu Reeves” which, interestingly and perhaps significantly, does not actually even reference Reeves. Instead, the connection, such as it is, refers to “the one” like Keanu Reeves, which of course is a reference to Reeves’ character Neo in the Matrix film franchise.

The legal test that likely applies best to these facts is the Rogers test, from litigation brought by Ginger Rogers in response a film named “Fred and Ginger.” Rogers lost the claim on the basis that the title was relevant to the film’s title and not simply a ploy to attract attention from Rogers’ name. Conversely, the same test was applied to Outkast’s release of a track called “Rosa Parks.” The lyrics were not about Rosa Parks, and it was determined to be a violation of Parks’ rights and an effort simply to attract attention to the song.

So I’ll leave it to you to decide if Brown’s song “Andrew Luck” is fair, appropriate or permissible, or if it fails the Rodgers test as Outkast’s song did a while back. I expect we’ll never really have this question answered, but it is an interesting reference point to consider in any event.

Here’s a link to the video and a recent interview with Antonio Brown:  Antonio Brown releases track named Andrew Luck